TITLE:
Use of a National Clinical Final Examination in a Bachelor’s Programme in Nursing to Assess Clinical Competence—Students’, Lecturers’ and Nurses’ Perceptions
AUTHORS:
Unn-Britt Johansson, Petra Lilja Andersson, Maria Larsson, Kristina Ziegert, Marianne Ahlner-Elmqvist
KEYWORDS:
Assessment, Clinical Competence, Nurse Education, Students
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Nursing,
Vol.4 No.7,
June
20,
2014
ABSTRACT: Objective: The objective
of this study was to evaluate the perceptions of students, lecturers, nurses
and clinical lecturers regarding the ability of the National Clinical Final
Examination (NCFE) to assess clinical competence, and whether the assessment
was consistent with the qualifications for a Bachelor of Science in Nursing as
outlined by the Swedish Higher Education Authority. The NCFE is divided into
two parts (written and bedside) and aims to evaluate third-year nursing
students’ clinical competence. Methods: Data were collected at 10 universities
using study-specific questionnaires. The
total response rate was 84% (n = 1652). Results: The clinical lecturers
indicated that there was a need for improvement in the written part of the
examination in order to adequately assess clinical competence. Regarding
the bedside part the clinical lecturers, nurses and students perceived that the
bedside part of the examination assessed whether the student had the clinical
competence required by a newly registered nurse. Conclusion: The two-part
examination described in this study was perceived as useful for assessing
clinical competence and for the qualification requirements for a Bachelor of
Science in Nursing as outlined by the Swedish Higher Education Authority.
However, especially the written part requires further development. The model
and form of assessment ought to be applicable to graduate nursing programme
internationally.